The Shift from Cybersecurity to Sovereign Cyber Resilience
Alex Ongena, founder of AXS Guard and now CTO of Approach Cyber. He advocates a comprehensive approach that combines sovereign technologies with local services—a unique position in the domestic market.
The days of purchasing isolated security products here and there without a real strategy are over. Cyber resilience requires a comprehensive approach, combining sovereign technologies and local services. This is, in fact, the reason behind the merger—in October 2025—between AXS Guard and Approach Cyber.
“The approach is unique,” explains David Vanderoost, CEO. “With AXS Guard, we have significantly expanded Approach Cyber’s scope of action, now offering Belgian technologies and products developed and operated in Belgium. For an increasing number of clients, sovereignty makes all the difference.”
In fact, as Alex Ongena illustrates, cyber risk management is less about firewalls and more about maintaining control! “Changes to international data protection agreements, extraterritorial legislation, and international data transfer rules have exposed a common vulnerability among organizations worldwide: the loss of control over critical digital assets. And that’s not even counting the confusing pricing policies of certain vendors wavering between on-premises and cloud solutions!”
Comprehensive Support
At the same time, the situation in the current geopolitical context has never been more sensitive. And some clients find themselves in a delicate position with software and hardware components from multiple vendors spread across different countries, which further increases the risks. “Without visibility into the origin and reliability of the technologies used, our companies and organizations can lose part of their strategic autonomy,” warns David Vanderoost.
This is where the merger between AXS Guard and Approach Cyber makes sense. “Our expertise is highly complementary and allows us to offer comprehensive cybersecurity support, from assessment to monitoring and incident management,” adds Alex Ongena.
The Resilience Triangle
This merger is not just a structural change: it is a commitment to technical excellence. “My primary mission is to lead our R&D and engineering teams in building the next generation of adaptive security, ensuring that our defenses are as agile as the threats we face.”
In doing so, Approach Cyber breaks away from the traditional framework that characterizes the market: on one side, vendors offering products from various sources; on the other, integrators and service providers. “The launch of our new sovereign customer resilience portal brings our approach to life. Powered by AXS Guard technology, this portal is the heart of our ‘Resilience Triangle,’ explains Alex Ongena. It bridges the gap between strategic consulting and continuous operations, offering clients a single, comprehensive view of their entire security posture.
Made and operated in Belgium
Managing the entire chain—strategic consulting implemented through adaptive security (the technical armor) and validated by continuous operations—enables us to enhance the quality of our services, from products to the SOC. “Our independence is a tremendous accelerator; we’re able to respond as quickly as possible and under the best conditions at our clients’ sites,” says David Vanderoost. “What’s more, risks are reduced because we developed the technologies, we manage them, and the data remains in our data centers.”
Alex Ongena concludes: “At a time when NIS2 is making resilience a priority on boards of directors, my goal is to ensure that our solutions, designed in Belgium, offer more than just ‘security’; they offer the continuity and digital peace of mind our clients need to protect their business.”
